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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#280: Talk That Talk

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyTalk to share your stories (and potentially get featured on our social accounts)!

As an aspiring author, one story element I constantly struggle with is dialogue. Writing realistic, engaging dialogue is no easy feat — but when done well, it can help readers get to know your characters better, advance your plot, and improve the overall pace of your story.

This week, let’s challenge ourselves by composing stories focused on dialogue. Who knows? You might discover something new about your characters based on what they say (or don’t say)!

This week's prompts

Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!)

Dialogue – 185 stories

Start or end your story with a character asking a question.

Dialogue – 78 stories

Write a story in which two or more people have a conversation — without using any quotation marks.

Dialogue – 36 stories

Center your story around a character who overhears others talking about them.

Dramatic – 37 stories

Write a story that includes someone (or something) saying, “No, don’t!”

Dramatic – 44 stories

Stories

“A Moth's Flame” by Violet Jo Swanson-Peet

Submitted to Contest #280

I have been flying as fast as I could to the rabbit warren nearby, the only place that could help us. I started in the garden and passed over the house, the warren was a 10 minute fly from here, it was becoming dark, which means the warren should be active. My mate shifted in my arms, groaning softly. I landed. The warren was in a large plain. you could see everything from every direction. I spoke up. Hello, please we need help. Heads popped up from their holes, one then 2, then 4 and soon an entire warren of about 15 rabbits was staring us ...

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“Soft Words, Hard Feelings ” by Logan Cross

Submitted to Contest #280

It was the way he sat down that tipped me off. Harry usually sat down with a flop. With his long limbs and his puppy-like curly blond hair, he landed in even the most proper environments with a full-bodied bounce. Every surface he came in contact with was made of clouds. But not this time. This time, Harry lowered himself onto my cheap, Ikea couch with a hesitance I’d never seen before, like a kid being sent to the principal’s office. Except the kid in question was thirty-two and sold insurance for a living. He flinched whe...

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“Someone Special” by Burton Sage

Submitted to Contest #280

Someone SpecialbyBurt Sage Hello. You’ve reached Living Dolls, Inc. My name is Brad. May I have your name, please? You need my name? No, I don’t need it. It’s just that I’m much more comfortable speaking with someone who’s name I know rather than some anonymous customer. OK, Brad. My name is Alice. Thank you, Alice. How may I help you? I’d like to order a doll. Have you been to our website? Do you have a particular doll in mind? Yes. I’m interested in one of your custom dolls. It’s to be a gift for a friend. I see. As you probably...

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“Hair Flipper” by Rachel Steffan

Submitted to Contest #280

As clumps of my waist-long, straight brown hair fell out in the shower on New Year's Day, 1998, I was thinking, "If I have a bald spot, I'm going to sue her!" Crystal, the tattooed girl who tore out my hair was technically an adult at 18 and I was 17, so this logic made sense to me, even though I had no knowledge or means of suing anyone. Crystal regularly smirked and made snide remarks about my hair, personality, and everything in between. I took my mom’s advice and ignored it as much as possible because, “She is just jealous and insecure....

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“The Wrong Formula” by Daryl Barber

Submitted to Contest #280

The Wrong Formulaby: Daryl Barber Clark adjusted his glasses. He was walking back to his office after a quick trip to the breakroom. This morning, he was almost late to work. There was a power outage in the neighborhood, and he woke up at seven instead of six-thirty. When he opened his eyes, he glanced over at the alarm clock. It read 12:00 AM. The red numbers and letters blinked on and off, reminding him of the stop lights in the middle of an intersection. Oh shit, he thought. I can’t afford to be late today. My presentation is at eight a...

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“Friendship Lives Long” by Yi Yao

Submitted to Contest #280

It was a sunny afternoon when I first heard the whispers. I was the most popular girl in school, mostly because I was the richest. I had a lot of friends, but I also had a best friend, Isabella. You might think she was the second richest girl in school, but apparently she was the nerd in school and not rich. I had a lot of admirers, which made some people very eager for my popularity, like Jess. She tried everything to embarrass me, but none of them worked. Once, she failed again, and I saw her crying in the classroom with the air hanging, I...

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“The shape of a butterfly ” by M W

Submitted to Contest #280

Content warning: Themes of terminal illness, loss, and emotional distress.The slick, white walls smelled of bleach, and the seats were patterned to disguise patchy stains. I couldn’t tell if it was coffee spilled from the hands of weary friends or bits of drool escaped from tired relatives’ lips.I sat down beside Mum and Dad. Dad wore his grey suit and tie. Important situations called for formal attire, and this certainly fell into that category. He shifted his tie nervously as if McMarkus Electric Co had finally called on him to deliver the...

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“A Strange Encounter” by Myth Maker

Submitted to Contest #280

I've traversed countless realities, but nothing prepared me for the day I arrived in place unlike any other. Most universes follow familiar patterns; convergent evolution means humanoid species are common. But this place? This was the Australia of the multiverse. As an Ainsingtly—a fragment of human consciousness that gained self-awareness—I'm used to being tossed about dimensions. One moment I'm tethered to a being in a world of crystalline spires, the next I'm snapping back to my human anchor on Earth. It's exhilarating, never knowing wher...

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“Gossip At The Blue Peacock” by Kathy Hayes

Submitted to Contest #280

Gossip At The Blue Peacock A Blue Peacock Short Story By Kathy Hayes “What do you know about her? Have you met her?” Bobbie Ann asks Lydia these questions.“I haven’t met her, but I know all about her. She is a gold digging slut. She was dating my Steven. Before he was 18. And her with a child. I couldn’t pry him out of her clutches. I threatened to call the police, but Kyle and Ron ganged up on me. Then, before I knew it, Steven was 18, and I had no leverage. He was hauling her arou...

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“Fixer-Upper ” by Veronica Hues

Submitted to Contest #280

Alice walks the hallway every day and feels a strange sense of longing. Where is everyone? She walks up to the first door in the hallway. Open, look, empty, close. The next door. Open, look, empty, close. Repeat. No one is home. The rooms are in disrepair. Windows are broken and wallpaper is peeling but Alice doesn’t feel the breeze coming in, can’t see the mold exposed by the missing wallpaper. She goes down the grand staircase, the alternating oak and black walnut stairs are broken and missing in some places. The banister is splintered, ba...

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“That’s Her Right There” by Kristen Papach

Submitted to Contest #280

“That’s her right there.” I try my best to continue eating my lunch without looking uncomfortable. I don’t want them to know that I can hear them talking about me. “In the blue sweatshirt?” “Yeah.” The fork holding my pasta shakes ever-so-slightly as I bring it toward my mouth. I know what she’s about to say. She’s about to tell her friends what happened when I arrived here this morning. “What happened with her?” “She parked in Jackie’s spot this morning, so I had to go out there and ask her to move.” “And what did she say?” “She was like ,’...

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“Lion's Den” by Nicole Ashcraft

Submitted to Contest #280

The erratic hum of chaos grows on the lawn outside my window as dozens of staff members scramble to finish last-minute preparations. The scene reminds me of when I kicked over anthills as a kid and tried to crush as many of them as I could while they searched frantically for their queen.Cupping my hands around my mouth, I chuckle and whisper, “Your king is here!”I never lost hope in the years leading up to this moment. When they had my back against the wall, I didn’t tap out. No one expected me to make a comeback, but the numbers didn’t lie ...

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“To Live by the Sword” by Corvid Corvidae

Submitted to Contest #280

tw - light racism/use of slur, light gore “I can’t believe they’re making us go out there.” One of the men mused. The rhythmic beating of the engine pushing the dinghy echoed off a large concrete hangar on the shore. The water in the harbor was still, reflecting the first pink stripes of the horizon as dawn crept in. Truby steered the boat in silence from the small cabin at the front. His eyes were resting on the large ship anchored in the deep harbor half a mile dead ahead. A Fletcher-class Destroyer, jutting out of the water mirror like th...

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“The Dreaded Period” by Sierra Steffan

Submitted to Contest #280

The bell rang for the fifth time today, the bell she dreaded. Ringing to announce to her that it's time for her lunch period to begin. She didn’t have any real friends in her lunch and just sat with a friend group that she tried to fit in to. The friend group had their jokes and conversations so she always just stayed to herself, trying to talk when she felt that she fit in. It bothered her a little that she didn’t have a real friend group at lunch but it was better than nothing. The four other girls she sat with were nice and weren’t mean t...

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“Some Wounds Don't Heal” by Allison Morgan

Submitted to Contest #280

TW: Tough Family Situation The door slams behind me and I yelp a sorry to my Gram before I even realize she is already sitting at the table in our small kitchen. Don’t call it that to her face though, she will always says it is ‘fun size’, like a doll house. “How was work, ducky?” “It was good,” I sigh out as I grab myself a mug and make tea for the both of us, “just long.” Gram leans back in her chair, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Yea, I don’t miss working, especially with these two hand fulls,” she chuck...

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$250

Prize money

380

Contest entries

138

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 13, 2024 EST

Won by Jay Wayne 🏆

Title: 45 Seconds

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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